AUGUST 6, 2010

Another early start, but it was an amazing day! I feel so blessed to have had to the opportunity to take part in this trip and being able to see the clinic at Xanthia and work there was just so humbling to me. We started the morning by eating a quick breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast before our 45 minute drive to the Xanthia Clinic. Once we arrived we saw the Oticon Hearing Clinic which had a sound booth, audiometer, tympanometer and also a separate area for us to fit the hearing aids donated by Oticon. We were divided into 2 teams, some went to complete school hearing screenings and others stayed to work at the Xanthia Clinic. Julie and I stayed to work at the Xanthia Clinic and we worked alongside the Witz students to complete otoscopy, hearing screenings, tympanometry, and hearing aid fittings. It was challenging to work with some of the patients as several did not speak English, but thankfully, we had interpreters to help! It was such an amazing experience to be able to provide hearing healthcare to these people that might otherwise never receive it! It was especially rewarding to me to be able to fit a hearing aid on a 23 year old woman who had a young baby who was able to hear her baby babble after being fit with her hearing aid today! What a blessing to be able to help provide this help and hope to these people! I am so grateful to Oticon and Dr. Clark for allowing me to take part in the mission! The entire trip has been amazing, but today was one of my most memorable experiences!